Dean Andrews (born 6 August 1963) is an English actor. He is known for his role asDS Ray Carling in theBBC drama seriesLife on Mars. He continued the role in the sequel series,Ashes to Ashes, until 2010. As of April 2019, he appeared asWill Taylor onITV soap operaEmmerdale.^[3]Andrews left the show on 26 December 2024 when his character Will died of a heart attack.

Born in 1963 inRotherham, Andrews went to Sitwell Junior School on Grange Road andOakwood Comprehensive School on Moorgate Road. He went to school withTop Gear presenterJames May.^[4][5]

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Dean Andrews started off as a mainstay of cruise ships as a talented entertainer and singer. He was discovered by film directorKen Loach, who was looking for people fromYorkshire to appear in the 2001 film,The Navigators.^[6] He then went on to play Barry Shiel in theChannel 4 dramaBuried, which won theBAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2004. That year, he also had a small role, as Neil, in the Channel 4 seriesNo Angels.

In 2005, Andrews appeared in one episode of theITV dramaWire in the Blood. The following year, he appeared in another BBC drama,Life On Mars, asDS Ray Carling. He then had roles in two BBC dramas,True Dare Kiss andThe Street, in 2007. Andrews again played DC Carling inAshes to Ashes, a 2008 spin-off series ofLife on Mars. During the same year, he recorded voiceovers forCurrys television advertisements.^[7] He had a guest role in 2010 on the BBC One seriesWaterloo Road.

In 2011, Andrews appeared in: the BBC dramaThe Body Farm as Peter Collins; theBBC Two television filmUnited, about theManchester United"Busby Babes" team and the 1958Munich air disaster; ITV's supernatural drama seriesMarchlands, playing one of the lead roles; and the five-part BBC One seriesThe Case, in which he played the lead role as a man accused of murdering his terminally ill girlfriend.

In November 2012, Andrews appeared in all four series of the BBC dramaLast Tango in Halifax as Robert "Robbie" Greenwood. The following year, he portrayed Pete Lewis in theBBC showBeing Eileen.^[8][9][10] Andrews played local hotel and barman Tom Asher in a 2015 episode of the popular seriesMidsomer Murders on ITV. In 2019, the actor joined the cast of ITV soap operaEmmerdale.^[3] He left the soap on 26 December 2024 when his character Will died of a heart attack. He has stated that he was not told about the character's demise. He narrated the Channel 5 documentary series,Our Great Yorkshire Life, in 2022.^[11] He also narrates the UK TV show Casualty 24/7 which centres on Barnsley Hospital.

• Dean Andrews atIMDb

• Living people
• English male television actors
• English male film actors
• English male soap opera actors
• 1963 births
• Actors from Rotherham
• Male actors from South Yorkshire

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